


Mea Culpa

by angelofbenignmalevolence



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Gen, Mistaken Identity, No HEA, killing in self defense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27144121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofbenignmalevolence/pseuds/angelofbenignmalevolence
Summary: Scott has always told Kayo that International Rescue’s business is to save people, not to catch the bad guys. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to Scott that when he broke his own rule, things went completely awry.
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931245
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Mea Culpa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Thunderbird_One_AI](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderbird_One_AI/gifts).



> This is for my "Bad Thing Happen Bingo Card." The prompt here was Scott and Killing in Self Defense. It was requested by thunderbird_one_ai.

Scott had lost count of the number of times that he had had to tell Kayo that International Rescue was not in the business of catching criminals. That was a job for law enforcement. International Rescue’s job was, first and foremost, to save lives.

Perhaps this was the reason Scott found himself justifying his presence at an abandoned complex where he had just seen the Hood’s vehicle enter after his latest scheme. He had stolen an experimental substance in an attempt to pawn it off to the highest bidder.

_The Hood doesn’t know how to handle such a volatile compound. He just stole it for the money. How much damage could he do unintentionally if it was mishandled? Scott would be remiss if he didn’t at least attempt to stop the Hood before some sort of disaster befell everyone. _

The excuse felt weak even to Scott, but he couldn’t think about that now. He needed to be focused on the task at hand. He’d take care of this and then use the flight back to the island to come up with a better excuse.

As he circled around for a place to land Thunderbird One, he was surprised to see a GDF ship landed in a barren stretch of land a small distance from the compound. He’d only just alerted John to the pursuit and he hadn’t quite expected the GDF to be quite so Johnny-on-the-spot. He landed just next to the GDF ship, descending from Thunderbird One and coming face to face with a Rigby that seemed just as surprised to see him.

“I’m surprised to see you here this quickly, Captain,” Scott said, the teasing in his voice good natured. “John only just told me he was getting in contact with you.” Rigby’s shock disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared on his features and he shrugged.

“What can I say? I was in the neighborhood. And it’s not every day I get to beat a Thunderbird to the punch,” he said, clapping Scott on the shoulder. Scott ducked out of the familiar gesture with an eye roll.

“Let’s save the celebrations and gloating until the end of the mission, hmm?” Scott said. Rigby’s demeanor shifted to all business, knowing Scott was right. “I was able to trace and follow the Hood’s signal here. He’s somewhere in the compound just east of here.” Rigby nodded.

“John said as much. Isn’t nabbing criminals more my jurisdiction, though?” he asked.

“I won’t tell Kayo if you don’t,” Scott said and Rigby offered short chuckle in response.

“Well,” he said. “I guess I’ll just have to show International Rescue how things are done.” He turned to finish arming himself while Scott rolled his eyes at the captain’s back. The man had a chip on his shoulder that quite often rubbed Scott the wrong way. Not, he supposed, that he had any room to throw stones. He had heard plenty of people say the same about him when they didn’t think he could hear them.

He didn’t let himself dwell on that thought for too long, as Captain Rigby turned around. Rigby motioned Scott over to a set of computers at the back of the GDF ship, pulling up a map.

“From the scan I was able to do coming into the area, it looks like there are six extant buildings,” he said. Scott nodded. He had noticed as much from the air. Scott indicated one of the buildings on the screen.

“I saw the Hood’s vehicle going into an underground garage near this one,” he said. Rigby nodded.

“It’s as good a place to start as any,” Rigby said.

“Then let’s move.” Scott turned and led the way toward the compound. Rigby stayed just behind Scott as they moved. Scott could feel the hair on the back of his neck rising as they moved closer. Something ominous hung in the air, a heaviness surrounding the building that set Scott on edge. Perhaps it was the idea of another face to face confrontation with the Hood that set him so ill at ease. It didn’t help that the seemingly abandoned compound felt more like a warehouse belonging to a serial killer than the remnants of an old industrial plant.

Whatever it was, Scott pushed it to the back of his mind. He couldn’t let himself get distracted. Not when the Hood was somewhere inside. And where the Hood was, the Chaos Crew couldn’t be far behind. He had to keep his wits about him. Scott paused as the compound came into view. While infiltrating was not going to be any form of rocket science, it wasn’t a situation he had hoped to find himself in. Next to him, Rigby frowned deeply.

“Awful lot of entry and exit points,” he said. “We probably stand a better chance of covering all the exits if we split up.” This time, it was Scott’s turn to frown at the suggestion.

“We don’t know if he is alone in there. If we split up and the Chaos Crew is in hiding in there already, it’s easier to overwhelm one than two,” he reasoned. Hell, if they only encountered the Chaos Crew, sticking together would even the odds. Rigby considered Scott’s words for a moment.

“That’s fair,” he said. “I suppose you are right in that respect. It took Kayo and I both to take Havoc on before.” Scott barely suppressed the urge to tell Captain Rigby that that wasn’t necessarily how Kayo told that story. They would have enough time to banter with each other after they took care of things. “Ok, Tracy, let’s go!” Rigby broke cover and started toward the structure before Scott had a moment to process. Scott’s brow creased. The headstrong captain could be a real pain if he set his mind to it.

Scott broke cover and followed Rigby down to the warehouse, taking up a position on the opposite side of the door as the captain. Rigby led the way inside, the room filled with crates and boxes and metal shelves. Scott’s eyebrow rose. Perhaps this facility wasn’t quite as abandoned as everyone was made to believe. Scott turned on the light on his suit to see if he could read the labels on the crates. Curiosity and a sense of impending danger made him cautious. If there was something in these containers that could be used against him, he would be wise to check it over before he got into a confrontation.

His fingers traced over the surface of the containers, finding no outward indication of what might be inside, though his glove came away with dust on the fingertips. He continued along the rows and aisles, checking dutifully around every corner as he moved through the facility. He could hear Rigby following in his footsteps.

As he turned another corner, he came face to face with an empty container, which drew his brow together even more. Something about this didn’t feel right. Why would the Hood steal a valuable and volatile substance, only to lead him to a warehouse with old, empty containers? It didn’t add up.

A loud clang from the other side of the room had him turning and sinking into a defensive crouch as the sound reverberated in the metal building. His muscle memory from his days in the military continued to serve him well in that respect. His eyes turned to the sound of footsteps running, only to find that Rigby had taken off in the direction from which the sound had come from.

 _Goddammit, Rigby!_ Scott thought to himself. When this was all over, he was going to have to talk to the GDF, or perhaps to Kayo if he thought she could make the captain come to heel. He cautiously moved toward the end of the aisle, not wanting to give away his position in case Rigby got himself in trouble running off on his own like that. His senses were on high alert, so when John’s voice came through the comms in his suit, he nearly had a heart attack.

“Scott, this is Thunderbird five,” he said.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Scott said, a bit more testily than perhaps his little brother deserved, but he was still trying to soothe his senses into a level of acuteness rather than the overload he was currently experience. When John spoke again, Scott could hear the frown in his voice.

“I’m sorry for the delay, Scott,” he said. “The GDF is on their way. Estimated time of-”

“GDF is already here,” Scott said as a sound had him advancing toward its origin cautiously. Scott wondered vaguely how Thunderbird Five’s information could be so behind. Was there a system bug that was causing the lag? There was a long pause and Scott wondered if maybe John had simply moved on to help one of their other brothers, but his brother’s voice came through his helmet once more, concern in his voice.

“Scott, I just got off comms with the GDF. I double checked the coordinates Thunderbird Five is registering with Captain Rigby. He’s currently leaving a situation in New Caledonia. Both Captain Rigby and Colonel Casey confirm there are no GDF craft in the area. Whoever you are in there with…it’s not the GDF.” John said. Scott’s blood froze, ice creeping through every inch of his body, and for a moment all he could hear was the pounding of his heart. Scott took several moments to respond, and it was a pause too long for John. “Scott?”

“FAB,” Scott said automatically, almost dismissively as his mind spun with other possibilities. If the person he came in with wasn’t Rigby…then he had to have been face to face with Havoc. Kayo had briefed them all on her holographic technology. The ice running through him deepened and his stomach dropped when he followed that through to its logical conclusion. That meant that he had dropped Thunderbird One right in the lap of the Chaos Crew, especially if the supposed GDF ship was really the Chaos Cruiser in disguise. His heart began to pound in his chest. He had to get back to Thunderbird One. He couldn’t let them get their hands on it.

“Scott?” John prompted again, worried at his brother’s silence.

“Lock down Thunderbird One’s systems,” Scott said, his tone much more level than he felt. “There’s a potential that she will be compromised. Alert me if there is any attempt to override lock down.”

“FAB,” John replied. “Are you ok?”

“I’m making a retreat to regroup with the GDF,” he said. “I’m inside the warehouse on location. At least one adversary is in the building with me.” He began to make his way back down the rows of containers. This wasn’t going to be a fair fight if he got caught on his own. Why hadn’t he listened to his own advice and remembered that International Rescue was not law enforcement.

He was nearly to the door when there was a horrible wrenching sound of metal on metal. He turned to see one of the containers falling toward him. He jumped out of the way and landed roughly as the container landed with a crash. Dust from years of disuse kicked up like a cloud and blinded Scott for a moment, holding up a hand to protect himself from the cloud rolling toward him despite the fact that he still wore his helmet.

“Scott? Scott?! What was that?!” John asked. Scott recognized that the panic in his brother’s voice was a testament to exactly how bad the situation looked from above.

“I’m ok, John,” he said, his eyes scanning the area. That shelf hadn’t failed on its own. That must mean that Fuse had to be nearby. He was the only one who could have done that much damage that quickly.

“What happened?” John asked. Scott didn’t have time to answer. A figure came flying out of the dust cloud, and it took all of Scott’s military instincts to block the attack. He rolled backward and out of the way, but his assailant was relentless. They had Scott on the retreat.

Scott got a lucky break as he rolled behind a shelf. It was only a few moments, but it was enough to get Scott on his feet and ready to face his attacker head on. He wasn’t disappointed as the figure came hurtling around the corner, weapons at the ready. Scott dodged out of the way, his heart stuttering for a moment when he saw that it was Rigby.

No.

Not Rigby.

Havoc. Rigby wouldn’t attack him like this. The shift from rescuer to soldier was almost instantaneous. Instinct took over as Havoc came for him. Scott dodged a punch and thought, in a brief moment as he took his own swing, that this wasn’t Havoc’s normal style. She liked to attack from afar, not get so up close and personal. What was her aim?

Scott had thought a little too long. Havoc took him to his knees with an attack he hadn’t been expecting. An arm was around his neck, cutting off his air. It was as if a switch had been flipped in his mind. It was obvious that she was dead set on taking him out of the picture. Scott’s muscle memory had him breaking out of the hold and shoving Havoc back.

There was a sound of pain and a squelching as his opponent fell back against one of the shelves that had been damaged in the earlier blast. Scott looked up and his eyes widened. It was jarring to see Rigby’s appearance with a spike of damaged metal through his chest. Hell, even with it being Havoc, it was still a shock. Scott moved over to explore the damage. There was wet breathing.

“Get…way from me.” The words were spoken through wet breaths.

“Shhh,” Scott said. “Don’t talk. I’m going to see if I can help.”

“Don’t need your help!” A wet cough and a groan of pain with a struggle.

“You’ll hurt yourself!” Scott said. He could see the life leaving Rigby’s face and the thought scared him, even if it was Havoc. While he had seen men die before, he always hated taking a life. No matter what Scott did, he couldn’t seem to stem the bleeding. Despite knowing he couldn’t save him, Scott was pouring his all into trying to do anything to stem the bleeding.

It was a moment before there was only the sound of Scott’s breath. There was no labored breathing, and Rigby’s body sagged against the broken containers and shelves. He hung his head.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you Havoc,” he muttered under his breath.

“What are you on about?” The voice came from behind him. Scott turned quickly and his heart dropped. Havoc stood at the other end of the corridor of containers, tossing one of her holospheres up and down in her hands. The color began to drain from Scott’s face. If that was Havoc then….

“What…how….” _No….he couldn’t have killed Rigby…he couldn’t…_ “Why did he attack me? What did you do, Havoc?!” Havoc smiled, clearly pleased with herself, pulling a small device no bigger than her fingertip from a hidden compartment in her suit.

“It’s a portable digital signal that can be unobtrusively planted on someone to alter their appearance.” Scott’s mind immediately shot back to the moment back before this all unfolded where the person he had thought to be Rigby had clapped him on the shoulder. He reached back over his shoulder and he felt his fingers brush against a raised feature he knew was not a part of his suit. Scott could taste bile as the reality of what he had done caught up with him. Rigby had attacked him because he had looked like someone else….Havoc. The Hood. Fuse. It didn’t matter. Rigby had thought it just as much a combat situation as Scott had. He dropped to his knees.

“You bitch…” Scott said. He didn’t lightly call any woman a bitch, but Havoc had just forced his hand in killing one of his business associates and a friend.

“Now now now,” came a voice speaking in a low purr that he knew could only be one person. He looked up to see the Hood coming from behind Havoc. “It’s not exactly fair to lay all the blame at Havoc’s feet. After all, this was _your fault._ ” The words took the air from his lungs as his fingers dug into the ground.

_Your fault._

**_My fault._ **

The Hood cocked his head and listened for a moment. The familiar roar of engines as another craft approach was nearly lost through the sound of blood pumping through Scott’s ears and the concentration required to keep him from throwing up. The Hood smirked.

“I really would love to stay and chat, but it seems as though we’ve outstayed our welcome here. Scott looked up in time to see Havoc activate the same device she had activated before. Scott barely registered that the Hood had taken on Scott’s appearance, or that Havoc had taken on the appearance of the Hood. He didn’t know who he looked like. It didn’t matter. He knew he was being set up to take the fall.

And deep inside, he knew he deserved it too.


End file.
